ESX 3.5 connected to NAS

[nkv]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to ESX connected to NAS box. In our environment ESX 3.5 connected to FAS 2000/3000 and in the VC the data store shows as "NFS" type.

We have 2 nics going from esx to nas boxes and 2 other nics for ethernet communication.

Some of the information i need help in finding is are given below (Could not get much help from storage team for information)

Question 1: What could be backgrond connectivity configuration - lmost probably the cable connected to nics directly goes through a switch and to NAS box or does it has to go through a ethernet switch (like in SAN environment we have fiber switches in between esx and storage).

I am looking for physical switch model that we can use here

Question 2: Is there any configuration required on the host side to connect to NAS box other then creating vmkernel switch at the host level

Question 3: Can you name some of the physical switches that are used for connectivity between ESX and NAS

Any info would be much appriciated.

Thanks

[weinstein5]

Question 1: What could be backgrond connectivity configuration - lmost probably the cable connected to nics directly goes through a switch and to NAS box or does it has to go through a ethernet switch (like in SAN environment we have fiber switches in between esx and storage).
I am looking for physical switch model that we can use here

NAS uses an Ethernet network so it has to be an ethernet switch - for redundant connectivity I would suggest two ethernet switches -

Question 2: Is there any configuration required on the host side to connect to NAS box other then creating vmkernel switch at the host level

If you are running ESX the service console will need to be able to get to NAS device -

Question 3: Can you name some of the physical switches that are used for connectivity between ESX and NAS

Any one who makes an Ethernet switch - HP, Cisco, etc.

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[Erik_Zandboer]

For NFS there is no need for the service console to reach the NFS storage (Only for iSCSI using the software initiator + ESX). You need a VMkernel connection to your NAS box though.

Furthermore, make sure your switches are Gbit non-blocking . This means that the switch can forward traffic at pure wire speed. Also make sure the physical switches support jumbo frames. If all devices from ESX through the physical switches to the storage box support jumbo frames, you can speed up things further.

If your NAS device can have multiple IP addresses, you could create two IP addresses, and assign half your shares to one IP, half to the other. If you then configure an etherchannel/port aggregate from ESX to your switches (and use load balancing based on IP hash) you have a primitive but pretty effective load balancing across ESX uplinks.

So your physical switches should at least support jumbo frames, etherchanneling / port aggregates and are non-blocking.

Cisco, HP all work (but cost you some). You could also look at Linksys for a smaller environments. They make some very affordable switches that perform quite well. But take note, not all of their switches are non-blocking I think.

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